


jo

by androgynousmikewheeler



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gender Dysphoria, Jo Byers - Freeform, Sapphic Jancy, Some Out of Date Queer Vocab, Trans Girl Jonathan Byers, Trans Jonathan Byers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24090028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousmikewheeler/pseuds/androgynousmikewheeler
Summary: Jo Byers has decided not to tell anyone who she really is, but she’s so incredibly tired, and it slips out.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	jo

Jo’s been in bed for probably an hour, but between soreness and dysphoria, she’s just now managed to reach a light doze. Even with Nancy visiting from Hawkins and being far too generous, it feels like the day that won’t end. 

When Nancy calls out, “Jonathan! Dinner!” one eye peels open and then scrunches shut again. Even though Nancy doesn’t know about her, has no reason to call her by anything else, hearing the name she’s been trapped in for so many years is just too much for her today. She doesn’t have it in her to get out of bed, to face that fucking name. Maybe Nancy will just let her sleep. 

No such luck. “Jonathan!” echoes once more down the hall, slightly louder, and footsteps make their way to her bedroom. She groans and rolls over, shoving a pillow over her head. 

Nancy knocks on the door and eases it open with its customary squeak. “Jonathan,” she whispers, and climbs onto the bed beside Jo. She places a hand on Jo’s back and rubs in gentle circles. She relaxes into the touch until another sing-song, “Jonathan,” hits her in the gut. 

“Stop calling me that,” she grumbles, and then dread pools in her stomach. She hadn’t meant to say that; Nancy didn’t know, couldn’t know. 

“What?” Nancy says. 

All the self-protective parts of her brain are telling her to shut up, but she’s just so tired. “Don’t call me that.”

Nancy blinks at her. “Don’t call you... Jonathan? It’s your name.” 

“No, it’s not.”

Nancy pulls back across the bed. She sits for a moment in silence. “I’m sorry. I’m confused. What’s going on?”

Jo tries to find the words to explain, to tell Nancy the thing she’s never told anyone, but she doesn’t know how. All the times she’s practiced in late night whispers disappear and there’s tears in her eyes and she doesn’t know where they came from. The pillow isn’t enough to muffle her sniffles and Nancy leans back towards her. 

“What’s wrong?” Nancy says, pulling the pillow away from Jo so they can finally see each other. “Are you okay? Is something going on with your family?”

Jo bites at her nails and stares at the bedspread. “No, it’s not them. It’s me.”

Nancy breathes deeply, concern and confusion painted on her brow. “Okay. Can you tell me about it?”

Jo shakes her head and furrows into the sheets.

Nancy lays a hand on Jo’s shoulder. “Why not?”

Jo mutters, “You’ll hate me. You’ll leave me,” into the cotton. 

Nancy’s eyes widen and she resists the urge to pull her hand away. “Did you do something? Something bad?”

“No, Nance, it’s not... it’s not what I’ve done. It’s who I am.”

Nancy exhales and smiles. She lies down beside her, hand tracing Jo’s jaw. “I already know who you are, and you—“

Jo finally meets her gaze, eyes teary but trying so hard to be understood. “No, you really don’t.”

“Yes, I do! I know you’re kind and smart and artistic and observant and,” her hands cup Jo’s face, wiping away a tear with her thumb, “I know that I love you. Nothing is gonna change that.” Jo just looks at her doubtfully. “I’m serious!”

“I don’t know how to say it,” Jo whispers, lip trembling around her thumbnail. 

“Can I wait here with you while you figure it out?”

Jo hesitates and then nods. Nancy smiles at her. “Can I give you a hug?”

Jo just nestles into her side, head tucked into Nancy’s chest, Nancy wrapping her arms around her and absentmindedly petting her hair. 

“Take as long as you need, Jon—“ she catches herself and stops abruptly, “love.”

They sit like that for a few minutes as Jo’s tears dry and her breath evens out. The only noise in her ears is the beating of Nancy’s heart. 

“I...“ she finally says, “My name isn’t Jonathan because... because I’m not a boy.”

Nancy’s hand stills in her hair. “You’re not?”

“No,” Jo mutters into her shirt, “I don’t know how or why, but I’m a girl, I know I am. A... a transexual.” 

Nancy’s quiet for a moment, but her hand restarts its idle petting. “So... what should I call you? What’s your name?”

“Josephine,” she whispers, the moment sacred, saying it to someone else for the first time. “Jo, for short.”

“Josephine,” Nancy echoes, feeling out each syllable. It sounds almost holy to Jo’s ears. “Like Jo March?”

Jo blushes and says, much too quickly, “No.”

“Oh my god, you named yourself after Jo March! That is—“

“Shut up!”

“Sorry.” Nancy squeezes her once, tight. “Jo Byers, huh? My parents are not gonna be happy with me dating a girl.”

Jo props herself up on her elbow, pulling out of the embrace. 

Nancy sits up and shakes her head. “Not that I’m going to tell them, of course.”

Jo rubs at her mouth and stares at the sheets. “Are you?”

An offended quirk appears on Nancy’s lips. “No, I just said I wasn’t going to—“

“No, that’s not what I mean. Are you gonna be happy? Dating a— dating me?” 

Nancy rolls to face Jo, faces inches apart. “Of course. I love you.” A grin stretches across her face. “And besides, you’re not exactly the first girl I’ve had a thing for.”

Jo’s eyes widen. “What?”

Nancy laughs. “Jealous, are we?”

Jo splutters. “What? No! I’m just... surprised.” She rubs at her mouth, then something hits her. “Wait, who?”

It’s Nancy’s turn to blush as she says, “Remember Jackie Orser? She moved a few years ago. Brown hair, big glasses?”

Jo chuckles. “Really? I didn’t think you went for nerds.”

Nancy wrinkles her lips and flicks Jo’s nose lightly. “I’m dating you, aren’t I?”

Jo scoffs. “Excuse me! I am a freak, not a nerd. Don’t be rude.”

“You consider reading Kurt Vonnegut a fun Friday night. That’s some nerd shit.”

“It is not—“

The front door slams. “What’s all this?” Joyce calls from the kitchen. 

“Oh, shit!” Nancy mutters. “I totally forgot about dinner!”

Jo’s face crinkles with guilt. “Oh, I’m sorry! It’s probably cold, isn’t it?”

Nancy winces. “Probably.” She bounces out of bed and straightens her hair. “Coming, Jo?”

Jo sighs and crawls out of bed. “I’m coming.”


End file.
